User Reviews

Only 5 reviews so far? Contrary to what some reviewers would have you believe this is a film that is clearly well made. The sets, costumes and period detail is exceptional. The camera work and direction, at least to my untrained eyes, appears to be top notch. While the story was unfamiliar to me it was interesting and well paced. Whether these accounts are historically correct or are depicted without bias is utterly irrelevant to the average movie goer. If you like well conceived, believable, detailed dramas about other lands and peoples then this is worth a long look. The acting is excellent, especially the role of the Mongolian matriarch played by Roza Khayrullina. Her authority and air of nobility is palpable. There is very little action in this film. However, there are numerous portrayals of brutality and violence as these are really unavoidable. Why is there no bluray?

The movie is a tough sell. Whom will it appeal: History buffs, religious people or Eastern movie fans? Maybe none of them, maybe all of them. It seems to try to appease a lot of people and might find itself not working for the majority of them. It's an historical epic picture alright, but does it engage the viewer? That's for you to decide.

The action scenes are alright, the pathos/religion aspects of it are bearable too. The performances are really good and the sets/locations are just amazing. Which also brings us to the cinematography. The movie really looks good. But due to the scope of it, it might run a bit too long for some. The pacing seems alright, but might feel to slow to some. It's a tough one to watch at times, but interesting nonetheless

If you are an American,as I am, you know then, that our knowledge of Russian history is lacking, unless you went for an advanced degree at some college. Therefore, I found the film to be totally engrossing. The cinematography, costumes, including the jewelry, the sets,and the translations from Russian and from what I gather, the Mongolian language, were all very excellent. I am not familiar with this director who is merely trying to convey a moment, or a slice of historical commentary,in a stylized way. I don't think meant for the Western Hemisphere either. As visually stunning as "The Russian Ark" and easier to follow the dialogue.

This movie was paid for by the church so that the basic plot holds itself true to the living of saint Alexius of Moscow. Still the director managed to make the best out of it, to pack it together with a lovely tale about an overlooked page of Russian history: the impending collapse of the Golden Horde. And rotting it starts from the head, with the uncouth assassination of khan Tini Beg by his brother Jani Beg.

This is a refreshing view for historical cinema. Hitherto the Horde was never given any lines of dialogue. You might have seen Andrey Rublev by Tarkovsky: they raze a city to the ground and ride away. In Eisenstein's Nevsky they're also shown to be an amorphous sinister outside force which can intervene on someone's behalf in Russian politics but is never doing anything on their own. They've been hitherto shown as unspeakable savages, as the Borg, as the zerg but never as dramatic characters, as yet another wave of brutal Russian statesmen, akin to the Bolsheviks or to Ivan the Terrible's thugs. The movie dispels the myth the Tatar Yoke was felled by the Russians in the Grand Standing on the Ugra river. You're shown it instead has removed itself, decades in advance, in a painfully similar manner to so many other political entities on the Russian soil.

An interesting moment lost on foreign viewers is usage of language in the film. It is amusing to see some obscure Central Asian language being the prestige dialect, the lingua franca, to all of the Russians. Today it's the other way round.

For the record, I'm not Muslim or Tatar or anything like that. But this movie was disgraceful. The whole movie seems like a youtube video made by amateurs who want to portray some sort of evil group of humans--who act anything BUT human. Just killing random people, torturing people, etc. etc.

There isn't a fight scene in the whole movie. So don't expect a war movie, from something called "The Horde".

Just shows a fake story about how awful life is like under the Golden Horde.

Even the Russian-expert hired to tell the director/writers about Golden Horde history, condemned the movie and said this is just a sickening evil portrayal of the Golden Horde and has nothing to do with reality.

It's as if the Russian director thought about how he could make Christians look good and how he could make Tatars look like inhumane animals. This was his goal and this is what he portrayed in his film.

It was incredibly boring and a waste of my time.

Are you sure you are well enough informed about all "historical value"? have you any idea about mongol-tatar yoke over Russia (more than 200 years)? So what exactly attitude you expect, when describing this particular period? Well, maybe Mongolian version is better and more different, it is... well understandable. But it's Russian history and Russian film. There are so much historical sources about how Russian were killed in a most cruel ways, thousands of them, families and towns. There was almost no life at all, how you expect all this feelings in every soul - fear and anger - to be shown? And yes, it the almost beginning of Christianity in Russia, with all passion and exaggеration, but also with all self-sаcrifice, specific for the period. So for me portraits of Mongolians are interesting and even soft... Or you expect always Russians to be bad, no matter who is opposite, Goebbels or Mongolians of the Horde, or etc. Time was full of cruelty, hatred, collision... and it is shown. I don't say the film is brilliant. But it is easy to fill your review with "interesting" phrases like "paranoid, hyper racist anti Asian propaganda", "KGB/orthodox church sponsored rubbish", "Goebbels anti Jews propaganda"... They are attractive and welcome for haters. But understanding is something different.

I stumbled upon it today on Netflix while eating lunch. I watched it for about a half-hour, but found it to be a waste of time and quit after 30 minutes. It's evident that there's some great acting and direction at work in this production, but it totally failed in the storytelling department. I think it's a good thing for the screenwriters to be from the "show", not "tell" school of film making, but more exposition would have helped. It seemed like Game of Thrones without enough back story. Maybe something got lost in translation since it is dubbed.

I found the depiction of the Mongols to be totally misleading. As a history buff, I understand that the Mongols ruled the largest and most diverse empire in the history of the world for more than 200 years. However, I don't think that feat was done by what this film depicts as the most boorishly brutal group of "hillbilly" Mongols this side of Urals. It's as though the director had studied some isolated tribes in Mongolia and grafted his impressions onto his depiction of the Mongol ruling class. For all their ruthlessness, the Mongols of the Golden Horde were more worldly and diplomatic than the bunch depicted in this film. Some historians consider the Mongol Empire the first multinational corporation. If the movie Mongols had ruled Russia, I doubt that they would have been able to hold onto power for a decade instead of a few centuries. If the Russians had allowed themselves to be conquered by this sorry group, it does n't really make the Russians look too good either.

I give one snot to the reviewer here who claims to be a history buff. You really need to spend more time reading. I indeed found this to be a true depiction of the declining life of the Tatars (a.k.a. Golden Horde). They had already climaxed as a civilization and were just a short time from total defeat by the Russians. Thank goodness for that! What a perfect time to tell the story of a priest and his journey of faith. I found the writing of this screenplay to be amazing in its depth and the film itself visually striking. One of the best films I have ever seen out of Russia. A big hit at the Moscow film festival, you just cannot stop watching.

I have finished this movie, but I have to be honest - I almost didn't. This was not due to bad acting, the acting was good and believable, the atmosphere was even there because of the music and well created props and outfits. But the way this story is told is not really contagious, the dramaturgy hangs itself already quite in the beginning with an unclear plot. Than in the middle part it seems to get it going but it's tedious in many moments due to scenes that were too long and irrelevant. The plotbreak around the end doesn't add anything neccessary to this movie, it seems to start a new story and some minutes later the credits are already rolling. Sadly not a recommendation.

a religious film. that is the point who, I suppose, explains it in a wise manner. not as manifesto against Mongols, not as a story about Russia. only as story of sacrifice and faith. sure, it is only a point of view. sure, it is a too subjective film and that is not a real surprise. because the cruelty, the week leaders, the powerful women, the story of Alexey and the moral victory are pieces of a portrait who defines way for assume the past. looking historical accuracy it is bizarre work. because the atmosphere, the tale, the mission of an hierarch are only important things. and, sure, the victory of Orthodox Church against an ambiguous evil. a film who could be useful for understand Russia out of definitions.

This is one of those films that looks great, cinematography is super, costumes/sets amazing but the story could not capture me simply because I care not to get involved in this area of world history. Movies are not a history lesson - and they take liberties with a film - normally that's how I watch "History" and "Biography" films (with a grain of salt) but I simply could not get into this one.

5/10

Russia, once film art superpower the land of Viertov, Eisenstein, Tarkowskij where is your film art gone? Since years hardly anything watchable, only few interesting movies but this trash is embarrassing. Script enough for 10 max 20 minutes short film, poorly filmed, zero historical value, no concept other than paranoid, hyper racist anti Asian propaganda. The portrayal of the Mongols reminds of Goebbels anti Jews propaganda. The paradox is that recently seen a Mongolian film and compared to this KGB/orthodox church sponsored rubbish it was well done, interesting, artistically valuable. This miserable production reminds of those Italian mythological movies from 60s except it lack their charm. Hope Russia will find its way back to genuine cinematic art that it was once such a beacon.

2 hours just to estimate in which direction contemporary world is moving, by leaving Christian values. Great idea, the events are real, this from the real biography of Saint Alexis, somebody writes here, that the Horde is demonstrated too dark, but all Russian and Ukrainian people know the price, this happened, western people were saved from Horde by Russia, that's why they can write such easy comments. We have a lot of historical documents - how this historical period looked. We have to learn such lessons and save our Christian culture. Many thanks to director and his team! Great dresses, colorers, music. I wish they will make one more film about ancient period in Russian history as Bogatyri.

An art house with elements of historical drama. It's time to finish the theme of the Mongols, which I started with the Golden Horde series (don't ever watch it!), and now I remembered this picture, which left a significant mark in cultural terms, but passed quietly and peacefully for the audience (there was a box office failure - and this is deserved!). When I first viewed the picture, I really liked it, but after reviewing it now, I realized that there is much more nonsense and jambs in it than there are worthy moments. And here is my brief opinion for you - The heavy burden of Metropolitan Alexei. The picture turned out to be contradictory, so I finish this introduction and proceed to the analysis.

So, the pros: 1. The Metropolitan's story - if you shed all the gloss (this is a strong word) The Golden Horde and its succession of khans, then we see a good martyr's story of Metropolitan Alexei - one of the most revered Russian saints, who performed real miracles with God's help. Here he was invited to the Horde at the request of Khan Janibek, whose mother went blind. But no miracle happens, and the metropolitan decides to punish himself, and it is for these sufferings and hardships that we have to watch almost the entire second half of the picture, simultaneously observing the life and fate of Russian prisoners, and even some foreigners. Vladyka suffers cruel torments, but the whole picture was shot on the instructions of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, so there is almost nothing else to contemplate here. The finale is generally not bad, and Maxim Sukhanov in the role of the metropolitan is good (although the actor turned out to be "rotten", so he won't wait for more words of praise from me).

2. The city of Sarai-Batu - specifically for the filming of this picture, the creators literally built the first capital of the Golden Horde from scratch, and on its historical site, and these decorations later became the basis of a tourist center under the same name (it is still operating now). This really deserves praise and a low bow to the creators, and on the screen it impresses with its exquisite beauty and its unique atmosphere. Of course, it was not possible to fully reproduce this magnificent city, but even the created one was enough, although there were disappointingly few close-ups.

So, the cons: 1. Historical errors - no one humiliated Metropolitan Alexei in the Golden Horde (he came, healed the khan, talked for life with Janibek (Alexey was a skilled diplomat, and the church received benefits, and Russia breathed more freely), and left with honor (baptizing some Mongols into the Orthodox faith)), the khans Tinibek and Janibek died not as comically as this was shown here, the appearance of the Khans (and not only them) causes only laughter (they walk like natural bums, and not the first persons of the Steppe), the Mongols respected the Orthodox church even before the metropolitan, and they could not enter the temple on horseback (they would be executed by the Mongol prison guards themselves), endless strings of Russian prisoners (although at that time Russia and the Horde were not at war, so where could they come from?) The capital of the Golden Horde in those years was already the city of Sarai-Berke (or New Sarai). These are only the mistakes that the incompetent and amateur historian noticed, and real specialists (like Klim Sanych Zhukov) will find much more here. Dear viewers, just know that you cannot believe everything shown!

2. Steppe Circus - this is the academic term I used to describe the nonsense that is happening on the screen. And more specifically, the picture has problems with logic. For example, the khan walks almost alone all the time, and after all, he has the title King of Kings - and he must be accompanied by personal bodyguards, where only the best nukers and those loyal to the khan personally could get. The reception of foreign ambassadors is a constant hammering of the head against the wall because of the circus tent that is happening on the screen. After that, I finally became convinced that this is not a historical drama, but a pure art house with elements of historical drama. I am already silent about the role and position of women in Mongolian culture and the norm of those distant years.

3. Boredom - minutes can pass in the picture without a single word being said. Suffering, tedious monologues and dialogues, and in the first part of the picture, most viewers will simply fall asleep, because nothing significant happens there (except for the steppe circus). Apart from a few straightforward thoughts about the historical fate of the Golden Horde and Russia and the martyrdom of the Metropolitan, there is nothing else here. As I have already said, no one tormented the metropolitan, and the Golden Horde at this historical moment entered the "Great Jam", to which it was approaching for a long time (since the death of Genghis Khan) and the jam led to a logical conclusion - a split and conquest by its closest neighbors (Persia, Turkey, Russia).

4. Acting - domestic actors! I am addressing you! When will you learn to play? Can you make it to the Second Coming?

Despite the strong criticism, this picture is better than the Golden Horde series (where outright fantasy was given out as history), because there is, albeit far-fetched, but a good story of Metropolitan Alexei's martyrdom, and it can be watched. I will still recommend the picture for viewing, but with restraint. If you look at it, then it's good, but if not, then it's okay, then you'll just know a little about it from this review, well, maybe you'll read about Metropolitan Alexei (but don't lean too much on Wikipedia - this is, in most cases, an unreliable source of information (personally verified)).

As a result, we have a good Russian art house in historical decorations, with a good history of the martyrdom of Metropolitan Alexei, an excellent decoration of the Barn-Batu, but with a huge number of historical mistakes and outright nonsense.

My rating is 5 out of 10 and I recommend this picture for viewing!

it is a seed. like Tsar who presents a thin slice of history , in an admirable manner but who do not desire to present only a story but a long chain of questions. a beautiful movie - the acting ( Roza Hayrullina and Maxim Sukhanov are the best arguments), precise science of recreated atmosphere and great talent to give impressive images. a film about power and faith, fall and twilight. like an Oriental fairy tale, it presents the clash between worlds and the power of weakness. with a splendid result. it contains violence and cruelty, clichés and , at first sigh, unrealistic moments. but the key is simple - it is a Russian story, seed and not fruit of a way to discover the past as root of present. a real good film. despite reserves .